MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW: Brian Lew Talks Early Metallica Reissues

April 5, 2016

This morning, Metallica uploaded a video of frontman James Hetfield inspecting a production model of the band’s upcoming Kill ‘Em All (Deluxe Edition) box set. The entire process takes several minutes, because, once the lid is open, the 1982–1984 era artifacts just keep coming and coming. Notable to our eyes is a full-page reproduction of a page from Bruce Pavitt’s SUB POP USA book, proving once again that Metallica’s early supporters came from all corners (and reaffirming Pavitt’s golden ears).

We think the Murder in the Front Row book has helped Metallica focus on its raw early days, rekindling their excitement about their magic origins, leading to projects like this box set and the Ride the Lightning companion set. In fact, Murder coauthor Brian Lew remains close to the band, thirty-five years after he sat in an El Cerrito living room and watched Cliff Burton’s first rehearsal. He has this to say about the unboxing video:

“Two years ago, I sat down at this same kitchen table with Jaymz and Larz, and they revealed their plan to reissue their early recordings. They floated the idea of me working as a consultant on them, and I agreed…and I did consult…and it’s amazing these are finally coming out! It’s also cool that many old friends from back in The Day were contacted and contributed, too. Fuck the haters…”